Active Pursuits in Digby
Bicycling Near Digby
Brier Island is a great destination for mountain bikers. Just 6 by 2km wide (4 by 1 1/2 miles), it's the right scale for spending a slow afternoon poking around the dirt roads that lead to two of the island's red-and-white lighthouses. Brier Island maps are available free at island stores and lodges. If you park your car on the Long Island side and take your bike over on the ferry, you'll save money; there's no charge for bikes or pedestrians.
Hiking Near Digby
On Long Island, two short but rewarding woodland hikes bring you to open vistas of St. Mary's Bay and the Bay of Fundy. The trailhead for the first, the 800m (half-mile) hike to Balancing Rock, is about 4km (2 1/2 miles) south of the Tiverton ferry on Route 217; look for a well-marked parking area on the left. The trail crosses through swamp, bog, and forest and is straight and flat -- until the last 91m (300 ft.), when it plummets nearly straight down a sheer bluff to the ocean's edge via some 169 steps. At the base, a series of boardwalks leads you over the surging ocean to get a dead-on view of the tall column of basalt balancing improbably atop another column.
For the second short hike, return to the parking lot and drive 5km (3 miles) south to the picnic area on the right. From the parking lot atop the hill, a hike of about 1km (a half-mile) descends gradually through a forest of moss, ferns, and roots to the Fundy shore. Note that the coastline here looks almost lunar, its dark rock marbled with thin streaks of quartz. You're likely to have this coast all to yourself, since few travelers ever venture here.
Farther along, Brier Island is also laced with hiking trails offering fantastic opportunities for seaside exploration. Pick up one of the maps offered free around the island. One good place to take a walk is at the Grand Passage Lighthouse (turn right after disembarking the ferry and continue until you can't go any farther). Park near the light and walk through the stunted pines to the open meadows on the western shore, where you can pick up a coastal trail.
Birdwatchers make pilgrimages here to witness the fall migration when the air fills with flocks of hawks, songbirds, and shorebirds.
